Shopping Cart Deflection Measurement System and Associated Methods

ABSTRACT

A shopping cart deflection measurement system and associated methods are described. The shopping cart deflection measurement system includes a shopping cart, a sensor, and a processing device equipped with a processor. The shopping cart includes a frame, a basket portion pivotably mounted to the frame so as to enable deflection of at least one edge of the basket portion downward in the direction of gravity following a weight being placed in the basket portion, and a lower rack portion mounted to the frame and disposed below the basket portion. The processing device can be configured to execute instructions to measure deflection of the basket portion relative to the lower rack portion of the shopping cart using data acquired by the sensor. The measured deflection can be indicative of a fullness of the basket portion with one or more products.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of co-pending, commonly assignedU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/393,231, which was filed onSep. 12, 2016. The entire content of the foregoing provisional patentapplication is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Some retail environments provide an electronic device to customers toscan products as the customer places products into a shopping cart. Suchdevices allow the retail environment to collect information regardingmovement of customers within the retail environment, as well as theproducts being purchased and the time of the purchase. However, suchelectronic devices generally require a significant amount ofinfrastructure, device maintenance, and data management, resulting inoverall increased costs of management.

SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a shopping cartdeflection measurement system that allows for real-time (orsubstantially real-time) monitoring of customer activity within a retailenvironment. In particular, by measuring deflection of a basket portionof the shopping cart relative to a lower rack, a determination of afullness of the basket portion with one or more products can bedetermined. In some embodiments, the exemplary shopping cart deflectionmeasurement system can be used as a security feature to detect whetherall items have been removed from the basket portion of the shopping cartand placed on a belt at a point-of-sale area. The system therebymonitors customer activity within the retail environment while havingreduced overall costs of management of the system.

In one embodiment, an exemplary shopping cart deflection measurementsystem includes a shopping cart, a sensor, and a processing deviceequipped with a processor. The shopping cart includes a frame, a basketportion and a lower rack. The basket portion can be pivotably mounted tothe frame (e.g., in a cantilever manner) so as to enable deflection ofat least one edge of the basket portion downward in the direction ofgravity following a weight being placed in the basket portion. The lowerrack portion can be mounted to the frame and disposed below the basketportion. The processing device can be configured to execute instructionsto measure deflection of the basket portion relative to the lower rackportion of the shopping cart using data acquired by the sensor. Themeasured deflection of the basket portion can be indicative of afullness of the basket portion with one or more products.

In another embodiment, an exemplary non-transitory computer-readablemedium is provided for determining fullness of a shopping cart. Theinstructions are executable by a processing device. The shopping cartincludes a frame, a basket portion pivotably mounted to the frame so asto enable deflection of at least one edge of the basket portion downwardin the direction of gravity following a weight being placed in thebasket portion, and a lower rack portion mounted to the frame anddisposed below the basket portion. Execution of the instructions by theprocessing device causes the processing device to receive sensor datafrom a sensor with respect to the basket portion. Execution of theinstructions by the processing device also causes the processing deviceto measure deflection of the basket portion relative to the lower rackportion of the shopping cart based on the sensor data to determinefullness of the basket portion.

In an embodiment, an exemplary method of determining fullness of ashopping cart is provided. The shopping cart includes a frame, a basketportion pivotably mounted to the frame so as to enable defection of atleast one edge of the basket portion downward in the direction ofgravity following a weight being placed in the basket portion, and alower rack portion mounted to the frame and disposed below the basketportion. The method includes receiving sensor data from a sensor withrespect to the basket portion. The method includes measuring deflectionof the basket portion relative to the lower rack portion of the shoppingcart based on the sensor data to determine fullness of the basketportion.

It should be appreciated that any combination and/or permutation ofembodiments is envisioned as being within the scope of the presentinvention. Other objects and features will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description considered in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that thedrawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition ofthe limits of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To assist those of skill in the art in making and using the disclosedshopping cart deflection measurement systems and associated methods,reference is made to the accompanying figures. The accompanying figures,which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification,illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and, together withthe description, help to explain the invention. In the figures:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary shopping cart deflectionmeasurement system in an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary implementation of a sensor ofa shopping cart deflection measurement system in an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a shopping cart of an exemplary shopping cartdeflection measurement system in a non-deflected position in anembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a shopping cart of an exemplary shopping cartdeflection measurement system in a deflected position in an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a shopping cart of an exemplary shopping cartdeflection measurement system in a non-deflected position in anembodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a shopping cart of an exemplary shopping cartdeflection measurement system in a deflected position in an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary implementation of a sensor ofa shopping cart deflection measurement system in an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a shopping cart of an exemplary shopping cartdeflection measurement system including a sound emitter in anembodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a computing device in accordance withexemplary embodiments in an embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an exemplary shopping cart deflectionmeasurement system environment in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an implementation of an exemplaryshopping cart deflection measurement system in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an implementation of an exemplaryshopping cart deflection measurement system in accordance with anembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention allow for real-time (orsubstantially real-time) monitoring of customer activity within a retailenvironment. In particular, an exemplary shopping cart deflectionmeasurement system monitors additions of weight into the basket portionof the shopping cart by measuring deflection of the basket portionrelative to a lower rack portion of the shopping cart. Measurement ofthe deflection of the basket portion is performed via one or moresensors, e.g., cameras disposed around the retail environment, a soundemitter disposed on the shopping cart and listening devices disposedaround the retail environment, combinations thereof, or the like. Themeasured deflection is indicative of a fullness of the basket portionwith one or more products collected by a customer.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary shopping cart deflectionmeasurement system 100 (hereinafter “system 100”) in accordance withexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The system 100generally includes at least one shopping cart 102, at least one sensor104, a processing device 106, and one or more databases 108. The system100 also includes a communication interface 110 configured to providewired and/or wireless communication (e.g., transmission of data) betweenthe sensor 104, the processing device 106, and the databases 108.

The shopping cart 102 generally includes a frame 112 with a basketportion 114 and a lower rack portion 116 mounted to the frame 112. Thelower rack portion 116 can be mounted to the frame 112 at a point belowa bottom surface of the basket portion 114 and generally parallel to afloor surface upon which the shopping cart 102 rests. The basket portion114 can be mounted to the frame 112 in a cantilever manner such that oneend is secured to the frame 112 and the opposing end extends from theframe 112. As such, the basket portion 114 is pivotably mounted to theframe 112, allowing for deflection of at least one edge of the basketportion 112 downward in the direction of gravity and the lower rackportion 116 after a weight is placed in the basket portion 114. Forexample, the deflection may occur when one or more products are placedin the basket portion 114.

In an embodiment, the sensor 104 can be in the form of one or morecameras 118 disposed around the retail environment. For example, thecameras 118 can be mounted at a ceiling level and/or a wall location ofthe retail environment and can be configured to capture images of theshopping carts 102 on the floor of the retail environment. Inparticular, at least one camera 118 can be configured to capture a firstimage of a shopping cart 102 in which an initial height (e.g., astarting height) between the basket portion 114 and the lower rackportion 116 is measured prior to placement of weight (e.g., products)into the basket portion 114. In other words, the first image may betaken when the basket portion 114 is empty. The camera 118 can beconfigured to capture one or more subsequent images of the respectiveshopping cart 102 in which a subsequent height (e.g., a deflectedheight) between the basket portion 114 and the lower rack portion 116 ismeasured after placement of weight into the basket portion 114. In oneembodiment, the shopping cart 102 may be affixed with a visibleidentifier by which the camera 118 may uniquely identify the specificshopping cart. In another embodiment, the shopping cart 102 may beequipped with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag by which itslocation is tracked by the retail environment.

The measured heights can be transmitted via the communication interface110 to the database 108 for storage as deflection information 120. In anembodiment, the system 100 can include a deflection estimation module122. Although shown as executing on the processing device 106, in anembodiment, the deflection estimation module 122 can be executed on aseparate processing device and the results of the execution can beforwarded to the processing device 106. A processor 124 of theprocessing device 106 can execute the deflection estimation module 122to receive as input the deflection information 120 and determine adifference between the measured subsequent height and the initialheight. If the subsequent height is smaller than the initial height, thedeflection estimation module 122 can output an indication that one ormore products have been positioned in the basket portion 114 of theshopping cart 102.

Additionally, in an embodiment, the deflection estimation module 122 canutilize a predetermined deflection scale to estimate the weight ofproducts positioned in the basket portion 114 and the fullness of thebasket portion 114. In particular, based on the amount of measureddeflection of the basket portion 114 relative to the lower rack portion116, and based on previously gathered deflection data, the deflectionestimation module 122 can estimate the weight of products positioned inthe basket portion 114 and the fullness of the basket portion 114. Theestimated weight of the products and the fullness of the basket portion114 can be transmitted to the database 108 via the communicationinterface 110 and stored in as deflection information 120. In anembodiment, the estimated weight of the products and/or the fullness ofthe basket portion 114 can be used to monitor customer traffic withinthe retail environment, and estimate when customers are completing theirshopping and heading towards the point-of-sale (POS) terminals, therebyallowing the retail environment to properly staff the POS terminals inpreparation for approaching customers.

In an embodiment, the system 100 can include a correlation module 126.Although shown as executing on the processing device 106, in anembodiment, the correlation module 126 can be executed on a separateprocessing device with the results of its execution forward toprocessing device 106. The correlation module 126 can be executed by theprocessor 124 to correlate the estimated deflection of the shopping cart102 and the estimated fullness of the basket portion 114 with datacollected at one or more POS terminals in the retail environment (e.g.,POS information 134). In particular, the POS information 134 can includedata on the products purchased by a customer. The POS data can be usedto estimate the overall weight of the products purchased by the customerand the correlation module 126 can correlate the estimated weight of theproducts determined by the deflection estimation module 122 with theestimated weight based on the POS data used to determine the accuracy ofthe system 100. In some embodiments, the system 100 can be used as asecurity feature to detect whether all items have been removed from thebasket portion 114 of the shopping cart 102 and placed on a belt at thePOS terminal. For example, if the system 100 detects that one or moreitems are still in the basket portion 114 when the customer indicates acompletion of checkout at the POS terminal, an audio and/or visualsignal can be output to indicate that additional items remain in thebasket portion 114.

In an embodiment, the sensors 104 can be in the form of a sound emitter128 mounted on each shopping cart 102 and one or more listening devices130 disposed around the retail environment. The sound emitter 128 can beconfigured to emit sounds of different frequencies (e.g., outside of thehuman hearing range) depending on an amount of deflection of the basketportion 114 relative to the lower rack portion 116 (and/or relative tothe frame 112). In an embodiment, the sound emitter 128 can emit soundsafter a predetermined period of time (e.g., every five seconds, everyten seconds, every twenty seconds, every thirty seconds, every 60seconds, or the like). In an embodiment, the sound emitter 128 may alsoemit an identifier allowing the shopping cart 102 to be uniquelyidentified by the system 100. In another embodiment, a shopping cart 102equipped with the sound emitter 128 may also be equipped with a visualidentifier by which a camera may uniquely identify the shopping cart 102or an RFID tag tracked by the retail environment.

The sound emitter 128 can be disposed between the basket portion 114 andthe lower rack portion 116. In one embodiment, the sound emitter 128 canbe disposed adjacent to a bottom surface of the basket portion 114 atthe connecting point of the basket portion 114 with the frame 112. Inparticular, the sound emitter 128 can be disposed such that anydeflection of the basket portion 114 relative to the lower rack portion116 is immediately sensed by the sound emitter 128, thereby changing thefrequency of the sound generated by the sound emitter 128. Thus, uponany change in weight within the basket portion 114, the frequency of thesound generated by the sound emitter 128 varies for each respectiveshopping cart 102.

The one or more listening devices 130 can be mounted around the retailenvironment and can be configured to detect sounds emitted from thesound emitter 128 of each shopping cart 102. The detected sounds can betransmitted to the database 108 via the communication interface 110 forstorage as deflection information 120. The deflection estimation module122 can be executed by the processor 124 to receive as input thedetected sounds and, based on the frequency of the detected sounds, thedeflection estimation module 122 can estimate the amount of deflectionof the basket portion 114 relative to the lower rack portion 116.

In an embodiment, the estimated deflection of the basket portion 114 canbe used by the deflection estimation module 122 in conjunction with apredetermined deflection scale to estimate the weight of productspositioned in the basket portion 114 and the fullness of the basketportion 114. In an embodiment, the estimated weight of the productsand/or the fullness of the basket portion 114 can be used to monitorcustomer traffic within the retail environment, and estimate whencustomers are completing their shopping and heading towards the POSterminals, thereby allowing the retail environment to properly staff thePOS terminals in preparation for approaching customers. In anembodiment, the data generated by the system 100 based on the soundemitters 128 and the listening devices 130 can be correlated with thePOS information 134 to determine the accuracy of the system 100.

In an embodiment, the shopping cart 102 can be identified based ontracking of a customer's device (e.g., a smart device). In anembodiment, the shopping cart 102 can be identified using passive sound(e.g., listening devices 130 detecting location of the shopping cart 102as it travels within the retail environment). In an embodiment, theshopping carts 102 can be monitored when entering and leaving the retailenvironment to detect the cumulative change in the shopping carts 102,the cumulative change indicating the amount of products purchased at theretail environment. Such information can be used for marketing efforts(e.g., targeted marketing) in the area. In addition, such informationcan be used to determine which products are selling well and whichproducts should be replaced.

The system 100 can include a graphical user interface (GUI) 132 fordisplaying information and/or notifications to a user associated withthe retail environment. For example, the GUI 132 can be on a personalcomputer and/or a mobile smart device, and can notify the user ofcustomer traffic patterns within the retail environment, the averageweight of products being purchased by customers, combinations thereof,or the like.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary implementation of a sensor 200of the system 100. The sensor 200 can be in the form of one or morecameras disposed around the retail environment. The sensor 200 can becommunicatively connected to a shopping cart loading database 202 and aPOS database 204 via server 206. The shopping cart loading database 202can include information for each shopping cart relating to the measureddeflection of the basket portion 114 relative to the lower rack portion116, including the measured initial and subsequent heights. The POSdatabase 204 can include information relating to the product weight soldper hour at the POS terminals.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show diagrams of a shopping cart 250 of the system 100 ina non-deflected position and a deflected position, respectively. Asdiscussed above, the shopping cart 250 includes a frame 252, a basketportion 254, and a lower rack portion 256 disposed below the basketportion 254. The one or more cameras of the system 100 can capture oneor more images of the shopping cart 250 with the basket portion 254 atthe initial height 258 relative to the lower rack portion 256. Inparticular, the initial height 258 represents the basket portion 254 ina non-deflected (empty) position before any products have beenpositioned in the basket portion 254.

FIG. 4 shows the shopping cart 250 with a product 260 disposed withinthe basket portion 254. Due to the weight of the product 260, the basketportion 254 has deflected downward in the direction of gravity and inthe direction of the lower rack portion 256. The one or more cameras cancapture one or more images of the shopping cart 250 with the basketportion 254 at a subsequent height 262 (i.e., a deflected height) abovethe lower rack portion 256. The difference between the subsequent height262 and the initial height 258 can be processed by the deflectionestimation module 122 to estimate the amount of deflection of the basketportion 254, the weight of product(s) positioned in the basket portion254, and/or the fullness of the basket portion 254.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show diagrams of a shopping cart 250 of the system in anon-deflected position and a deflected position, respectively. FIG. 5 issubstantially similar in structure to the shopping cart of FIG. 3,including the initial height 258 between the bottom surface of thebasket portion 254 and the top surface of the lower rack portion 256.FIG. 6 shows the basket portion 254 loaded with three products 260. Inaddition, FIG. 6 shows the lower rack portion 256 loaded with a product264. Due to the weight of the products 260, the basket portion 254deflects downward in the direction of gravity and the lower rack portion256. Due to the weight of the product 264, the lower rack portion 256also deflects downward in the direction of gravity.

In an embodiment, based on one or more images captured by the camera,the deflection estimation module 122 can estimate the amount ofdeflection of the basket portion 254 relative to the initial position ofthe lower rack portion 256 (e.g., subsequent height 262). In anembodiment, based on one or more images captured by the camera, thedeflection estimation module 122 can estimate the amount of deflectionof the basket portion 254 relative to the deflected position of thelower rack portion 256 (e.g., subsequent height 266). In an embodiment,based on one or more images captured by the camera, the deflectionestimation module 122 can estimate the amount of deflection of the lowerrack portion 256 relative to the initial position of the lower rackportion 256 (e.g., subsequent height 268), thereby taking into accountthe weight of the product 264 and the fullness of the lower rack portion256. In an embodiment, each of the subsequent heights 262, 266, 268 canbe estimated and stored in the database 108.

In an embodiment, the shopping cart 250 deflection can be measured withnetworked cameras, and a correlation can be determined between theweight of products purchased at the POS terminals and the deflection ofeach shopping cart 250. The system 100 can store the weight of productspurchased by customers at the POS terminals and the estimated deflectionof the shopping carts 250 by time (e.g., by each hour) and day. In anembodiment, the stored data can become a metric to be used by the retailenvironment for properly staffing associates for assistance in theaisles of the retail environment and/or at the POS terminals.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary implementation of a sensor 300of the system 100. The sensor 300 can be in the form of one or morelistening devices disposed around the retail environment and configuredto detect signals from a sound emitter mounted to the respectiveshopping carts 102 (see, e.g., FIG. 8). The sensor 300 can becommunicatively connected to a shopping cart loading database 302 and aPOS database 304 via server 306. The shopping cart loading database 302can include information relating to the detected sounds emitted from thesound emitter mounted on the respective shopping carts 102, includingthe correlation between the frequency of the detected sound and thedeflection of the basket portion 114 relative to the lower rack portion116. The POS database 304 can include information relating to theproduct weight sold per hour at the POS terminals.

FIG. 8 shows a diagram of a shopping cart 350 of the system 100 in anon-deflected position. As discussed above, the shopping cart 350includes a frame 352, a basket portion 354, and a lower rack portion 356disposed below the basket portion 354. As part of the sensor systemassociated with the system 100, the shopping cart 350 can include asound emitter 358 mounted to the shopping cart 350. In an embodiment,the sound emitter 358 can be mounted to the frame 352 directly below abottom surface 360 of the basket portion 354. In an embodiment, thesound emitter 358 can be mounted to the frame 352 and to the bottomsurface 360 of the basket portion 354. It will be appreciated that otherlocations of the sound emitter 358, in addition to, or in combinationwith, those specifically described herein are also considered to bewithin the scope of the present invention.

In particular, the sound emitter 358 is mounted to the shopping cart 350such that any deflection of the basket portion 354 in the direction ofgravity and the lower rack portion 356 due to weight placed into thebasket portion 354 causes the sound emitter 358 to emit a sound 362 of adifferent frequency than when the basket portion 354 is empty. Forexample, in one embodiment, the sound emitter 358 may be in mechanicalcommunication with the joint between the bottom surface of the basketportion 354 and the frame 352 such that the sound emitter 358 detectschanges in an angle where the two surfaces meet and thus receives anindication of the degree of deflection. Further, the sound emitter 358can be configured to emit sounds 362 at different frequencies (e.g., awide range of frequencies) based on the amount of deflection of thebasket portion 354 relative to the lower rack portion 356. In anembodiment, the shopping cart 350 can include an additional soundemitter 358 disposed adjacent and/or below the lower rack portion 356 toemit sounds 362 of different frequencies based on deflection of thelower rack portion 356 relative to the frame 352.

It should be understood that the sound emitter 358 can emit sounds 362of a certain frequency when the shopping cart 350 is empty, and theemitted sounds 362 vary based on the amount of deflection of the basketportion 354 relative to the lower rack portion 356. The emitted sounds362 can be detected by one or more listening devices 300 (see, e.g.,FIG. 7). Based on the frequency of the emitted sound 362, the listeningdevice 300 (and/or the processing device 106) can correlate the emittedsound 362 with the amount of deflection of the basket portion 354. Basedon the estimated deflection of the basket portion 354, an estimation ofthe weight of the products in the basket portion 354 and the fullness ofthe basket portion 354 can be determined. In an embodiment, the featuresof the shopping cart 350 can be incorporated with the features discussedrelative to the shopping cart 250.

In an embodiment, the shopping cart 350 deflection can be measured withnetworked listening devices, and a correlation can be determined betweenthe weight of products purchased at the POS terminals and the deflectionof each shopping cart 350. The system 100 can store the weight ofproducts purchased by customers at the POS terminals and store theestimated deflection of the shopping carts 350 by time (e.g., by eachhour) and day. In an embodiment, the stored data can become a metric tobe used by the retail environment for properly staffing associates forassistance in the aisles of the retail environment and/or at the POSterminals. In an embodiment, multiple listening devices can beconfigured to detect the sounds 362 emitted from the same sound emitter358, and triangulation methods can be implemented to determine thelocation of the shopping cart 350 in the retail environment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a computing device 400 in accordance withexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The computing device400 includes one or more non-transitory computer-readable media forstoring one or more computer-executable instructions or software forimplementing exemplary embodiments. The non-transitory computer-readablemedia may include, but are not limited to, one or more types of hardwarememory, non-transitory tangible media (for example, one or more magneticstorage disks, one or more optical disks, one or more flash drives), andthe like. For example, memory 406 included in the computing device 400may store computer-readable and computer-executable instructions orsoftware for implementing exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure (e.g., instructions for executing the deflection estimationmodule 122, the correlation module 126, combinations thereof, or thelike). The computing device 400 also includes configurable and/orprogrammable processor 402 and associated core 404, and optionally, oneor more additional configurable and/or programmable processor(s) 402′and associated core(s) 404′ (for example, in the case of computersystems having multiple processors/cores), for executingcomputer-readable and computer-executable instructions or softwarestored in the memory 406 and other programs for controlling systemhardware. Processor 402 and processor(s) 402′ may each be a single coreprocessor or multiple core (404 and 404′) processor.

Virtualization may be employed in the computing device 400 so thatinfrastructure and resources in the computing device 400 may be shareddynamically. A virtual machine 414 may be provided to handle a processrunning on multiple processors so that the process appears to be usingonly one computing resource rather than multiple computing resources.Multiple virtual machines may also be used with one processor.

Memory 406 may include a computer system memory or random access memory,such as DRAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, and the like. Memory 406 may include othertypes of memory as well, or combinations thereof.

A user may interact with the computing device 400 through a visualdisplay device 418 (e.g., a personal computer, a mobile smart device, orthe like), such as a computer monitor, which may display one or moreuser interfaces 420 (e.g., GUI 132) that may be provided in accordancewith exemplary embodiments. The computing device 400 may include otherI/O devices for receiving input from a user, for example, a keyboard orany suitable multi-point touch interface 408, a pointing device 410(e.g., a mouse). The keyboard 408 and the pointing device 410 may becoupled to the visual display device 418. The computing device 400 mayinclude other suitable conventional I/O peripherals.

The computing device 400 may also include one or more storage devices424, such as a hard-drive, CD-ROM, or other computer readable media, forstoring data and computer-readable instructions and/or software thatimplement exemplary embodiments of the deflection estimation module 122,the correlation module 126, combinations thereof, or the like, describedherein. Exemplary storage device 424 may also store one or moredatabases 426 for storing any suitable information required to implementexemplary embodiments. For example, exemplary storage device 424 canstore one or more databases 426 for storing information, such as datarelating to the deflection information 120, the POS information 134, orthe like, and computer-readable instructions and/or software thatimplement exemplary embodiments described herein. The databases 426 maybe updated by manually or automatically at any suitable time to add,delete, and/or update one or more items in the databases.

The computing device 400 can include a network interface 412 configuredto interface via one or more network devices 422 with one or morenetworks, for example, Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN)or the Internet through a variety of connections including, but notlimited to, standard telephone lines, LAN or WAN links (for example,802.11, T1, T3, 56 kb, X.25), broadband connections (for example, ISDN,Frame Relay, ATM), wireless connections, controller area network (CAN),or some combination of any or all of the above. The network interface412 may include a built-in network adapter, network interface card,PCMCIA network card, card bus network adapter, wireless network adapter,USB network adapter, modem or any other device suitable for interfacingthe computing device 400 to any type of network capable of communicationand performing the operations described herein. Moreover, the computingdevice 400 may be any computer system, such as a workstation, desktopcomputer, server, laptop, handheld computer, tablet computer (e.g., theiPad™ tablet computer), mobile computing or communication device (e.g.,the iPhone™ communication device), or other form of computing ortelecommunications device that is capable of communication and that hassufficient processor power and memory capacity to perform the operationsdescribed herein.

The computing device 400 may run any operating system 416, such as anyof the versions of the Microsoft® Windows® operating systems, thedifferent releases of the Unix and Linux operating systems, any versionof the MacOS® for Macintosh computers, any embedded operating system,any real-time operating system, any open source operating system, anyproprietary operating system, or any other operating system capable ofrunning on the computing device and performing the operations describedherein. In exemplary embodiments, the operating system 416 may be run innative mode or emulated mode. In an exemplary embodiment, the operatingsystem 416 may be run on one or more cloud machine instances.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an exemplary shopping cart deflectionmeasurement system environment 450 in accordance with exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure. The environment 450 can includeservers 452, 454 operatively coupled to a processing device 456, andsensors 458, 460, 462, via a communication platform 464, which can beany network over which information can be transmitted between devicescommunicatively coupled to the network. For example, the communicationplatform 464 can be the Internet, Intranet, virtual private network(VPN), wide area network (WAN), local area network (LAN), and the like.In an embodiment, the communication platform 464 can be part of a cloudenvironment. The environment 450 can include repositories or databases466, 468, which can be operatively coupled to the servers 452, 454, aswell as to the processing device 456 and the sensors 458, 460, 462, viathe communications platform 464. In exemplary embodiments, the servers452, 454, processing device 456, sensors 458, 460, 462, and databases466, 468 can be implemented as computing devices (e.g., computing device400). Those skilled in the art will recognize that the databases 466,468 can be incorporated into one or more of the servers 452, 454 suchthat one or more of the servers 452, 454 can include databases 466, 468.In an embodiment, the database 466 can store the deflection information120, and the database 468 can store the POS information 134. In anembodiment, a single database 466, 468 can store both the deflectioninformation 120 and the POS information 134.

In an embodiment, embodiments of the servers 452, 454 can be configuredto implement one or more portions of the system 100. For example, server452 can be configured to implement one or more portions of thecorrelation module 126. As a further example, server 454 can beconfigured to implement one or more portions of the deflectionestimation module 122.

In an embodiment, the sensors 458 can be in the form of one or morecameras 118 disposed throughout the retail environment. In anembodiment, the sensors 360 can be in the form of one or more soundemitters 128 mounted to respective shopping carts 102 and one or morelistening devices 130 disposed throughout the retail environment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 500 asimplemented by the shopping cart deflection measurement system 100 in anembodiment that includes sensors in the form of cameras. To begin, atstep 502, sensor data is received from one or more cameras with respectto a basket portion of a shopping cart. At step 504, an initial heightbetween the basket portion and the lower rack portion can be measuredbased on at least one image in the sensor data obtained by the one ormore cameras prior to a placement of a weight (e.g., one or moreproducts) into the basket portion. At step 506, a subsequent heightbetween the basket portion and the lower rack portion can be measuredbased on at least one second image obtained by the one or more camerasafter placement of the weight into the basket portion. At step 508, adifference between the measured subsequent height and the measuredinitial height can be correlated with a measured deflection, themeasured deflection being indicative of a fullness of the basket portionwith one or more products. Optionally, at step 510, the measureddeflection can be correlated with POS data collected at a POS terminalof the retail environment to determine the weight of products sold for apredetermined period of time at the retail environment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 550 asimplemented by the shopping cart deflection measurement system 100including sensors in the form of sound emitters and listening devices.To begin, at step 552, sensor data from a sensor is received, the sensordata corresponding to a basket portion of a shopping cart. The sensorcan include a sound emitter and a listening device configured to detectsounds emitted from the sound emitter based on deflection of the basketportion relative to a lower rack portion of the shopping cart. At step554, sounds of different frequencies can be emitted with the soundemitter affixed on a shopping basket depending on an amount ofdeflection of the basket portion relative to the lower rack portion. Atstep 556, the sounds emitted from the sound emitter can be detected withthe listening device. At step 558, the frequency of the detected emittedsound can be correlated with a measured deflection, the measureddeflection being indicative of a fullness of the basket portion with oneor more products. Optionally, at step 560, the measured deflection canbe correlated with POS data collected at a POS terminal of the retailenvironment to determine the weight of products sold for a predeterminedperiod of time at the retail environment.

While exemplary embodiments have been described herein, it is expresslynoted that these embodiments should not be construed as limiting, butrather that additions and modifications to what is expressly describedherein also are included within the scope of the invention. Moreover, itis to be understood that the features of the various embodimentsdescribed herein are not mutually exclusive and can exist in variouscombinations and permutations, even if such combinations or permutationsare not made express herein, without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention.

1. A shopping cart deflection measurement system, comprising: a shoppingcart including: a frame, a basket portion pivotably mounted to the frameso as to enable deflection of at least one edge of the basket portiondownward in the direction of gravity following a weight being placed inthe basket portion, and a lower rack portion mounted to the frame anddisposed below the basket portion; P1 a sensor; and a processing deviceequipped with a processor, wherein the processing device is configuredto execute instructions to measure deflection of the basket portionrelative to the lower rack portion of the shopping cart using dataacquired by the sensor, the measured deflection being indicative of afullness of the basket portion with one or more products.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein the sensor includes at least one camera.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein deflection is measured as a change in adistance between a lower surface of the basket portion and an uppersurface of the lower rack portion.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein theprocessing device is configured to execute instructions to: measure aninitial height between the basket portion and the lower rack portionbased on at least one image obtained by the camera prior to a placementof the weight into the basket portion, and measure a subsequent heightbetween the basket portion and the lower rack portion based on at leasta second image obtained by the camera after the placement of the weightinto the basket portion.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein a differencebetween the subsequent height and the initial height between the basketportion and the lower rack portion corresponds to the deflection of thebasket portion relative to the lower rack portion.
 6. The system ofclaim 5, wherein changes in the deflection of the basket portionrelative to the lower rack portion are interpreted by the processingdevice as indicating changes in the weight placed in the basket portion.7. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises: a sound emitterdisposed on the shopping cart configured to emit sounds based ondeflection of the basket portion relative to the lower rack portion, anda listening device configured to detect sounds emitted from the soundemitter of the shopping cart.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein thesound emitter is mounted to the frame between the basket portion and thelower rack portion.
 9. The system of claim 7, wherein the sound emitteris configured to emit sounds of different frequencies depending on anamount of the deflection of the basket portion relative to the lowerrack portion.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the sounds emitted bythe sound emitter are outside of human hearing range.
 11. The system ofclaim 9, wherein changes in the frequency of the sounds emitted by thesound emitter correspond to changes in the weight placed in the basketportion.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing device isconfigured to execute instructions to correlate the measured deflectionwith point-of-sale data collected at a point-of-sale terminal of aretail environment to determine a weight of products sold for apredetermined period of time at the retail environment.
 13. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions fordetermining fullness of a shopping cart that are executable by aprocessing device, the shopping cart including a frame, a basket portionpivotably mounted to the frame so as to enable deflection of at leastone edge of the basket portion downward in the direction of gravityfollowing a weight being placed in the basket portion, and a lower rackportion mounted to the frame and disposed below the basket portion,wherein execution of the instructions by the processing device causesthe processing device to: receive sensor data from a sensor with respectto the basket portion; and measure deflection of the basket portionrelative to the lower rack portion of the shopping cart based on thesensor data to determine fullness of the basket portion.
 14. The mediumof claim 13, wherein the sensor includes at least one camera, andwherein execution of the instructions by the processing device causesthe processing device to: measure an initial height between the basketportion and the lower rack portion based on at least one image obtainedby the camera prior to a placement of the weight into the basketportion, and measure a subsequent height between the basket portion andthe lower rack portion based on at least a second image obtained by thecamera after the placement of the weight into the basket portion. 15.The medium of claim 13, wherein the sensor comprises: a sound emitterdisposed on the shopping cart configured to emit sounds based ondeflection of the basket portion relative to the lower rack portion, anda listening device configured to detect sounds emitted from the soundemitter of the shopping cart, wherein execution of the instructions bythe processing device causes the processing device to emit sounds ofdifferent frequencies with the sound emitter depending on an amount ofthe deflection of the basket portion relative to the lower rack portion.16. The medium of claim 15, wherein execution of the instructions by theprocessing device causes the processing device to receive the emittedsounds at the listening device and determine the deflection of thebasket portion relative to the lower rack portion of the shopping cartbased on a frequency of the emitted sounds.
 17. The medium of claim 13,wherein execution of the instructions by the processing device causesthe processing device to correlate the measured deflection withpoint-of-sale data collected at a point-of-sale terminal of a retailenvironment to determine a weight of products sold for a predeterminedperiod of time at the retail environment.
 18. A method of determiningfullness of a shopping cart, the shopping cart including a frame, abasket portion pivotably mounted to the frame so as to enable deflectionof at least one edge of the basket portion downward in the direction ofgravity following a weight being placed in the basket portion, and alower rack portion mounted to the frame and disposed below the basketportion, the method comprising: receiving sensor data from a sensor withrespect to the basket portion; and measuring deflection of the basketportion relative to the lower rack portion of the shopping cart based onthe sensor data to determine fullness of the basket portion.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the sensor includes at least one camera, themethod further comprising: measuring an initial height between thebasket portion and the lower rack portion based on at least one imageobtained by the camera prior to a placement of the weight into thebasket portion, and measuring a subsequent height between the basketportion and the lower rack portion based on at least a second imageobtained by the camera after placement of the weight into the basketportion.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the sensor comprises: asound emitter disposed on the shopping cart configured to emit soundsbased on deflection of the basket portion relative to the lower rackportion, and a listening device configured to detect sounds emitted fromthe sound emitter of the shopping cart, and wherein the method comprisesemitting sounds of different frequencies with the sound emitterdepending on an amount of the deflection of the basket portion relativeto the lower rack portion.